Mauritius Budget Puts AI at Center of Digital Economy Plans

Mauritius's Prime Minister and Finance Minister Navin Ramgoolam outlined a series of artificial intelligence commitments in the 2026/2027 national budget, expanding on the AI strategy launched earlier in the year.

Training and infrastructure

The budget commits to training 5,000 civil servants in the responsible use of artificial intelligence, alongside a 25-million-rupee allocation to develop a national AI learning platform and support AI-focused startups. A new "Champion of AI" programme, developed in partnership with India, aims to encourage wider AI adoption across the country's private sector and general population.

AI in public services

The government plans to integrate AI into existing government platforms as part of the budget's digital-transformation push, including adding a multilingual chatbot and automation tools to the National Electronic Licensing System — one of the clearest concrete steps yet toward embedding AI directly into how citizens interact with the state.

Following through on strategy

The budget measures follow directly from the National AI Strategy and FAIR Guidelines launched in April 2026, giving the strategy document a funded implementation path rather than leaving it as a standalone policy statement.